93-94 Points – John Schreiner on Wine – October 20, 2009
Although the wine was just released in September, it was entered this spring in the Lieutenant Governor’s competition and won an award of excellence. If it was good in June, it has developed gloriously over summer. It begins with rich, honeyed aromas of tangerine. On the palate, there are flavours of honey, citrus fruits, a hint of butter, with a backbone of minerals and bright acidity. The finish of this elegant wine goes on and on.

92+ points – Icon Wines.ca – November 30, 2009
If you can't wait the recommended one year before opening the 2009 Lieutenant Governor's Award of Excellence winning Reserve Chardonnay, you will enjoy youthful aromas of butter, pear, apple with floral and mineral notes. On the palate you will taste flavours of lemon, pear, wet cement, green apple, melon and oak notes with high-minus acidity and a seemingly never ending finish.  I believe this wine will age beautifully and am laying down a couple bottles in my cellar. I'll get a glimpse of the aging potential when I open a bottle of the 2006 Vintage next year. Drink 2010-2013

91 points - Daenna Van Mulligen - WineScores.ca – October 16, 2009
Bursting with citric aromas - grapefruit and lime zest - apple and firm, snappy nectarine with a hint of peach. It's off-dry on the palate but the snappy acidity fools you into thinking its drier than it is. Flavours are of green pear, grapefruit peel, minerals, lime oil and stone fruit with a bit of spice. A lovely texture, taut and lip-smacking...



90 points - Daenna Van Mulligen - WineScores.ca – October 8, 2009
Loads of tart fruits like rhubarb and red cherry and cranberry, carrot tops, cedar and wild herbs with undertones of forest floor. The palate is bright, expect juicy red berries, white pepper and spicebox. The texture is soft and silky, it's light-medium bodied and is made for food!  Elegant and delicious.  Pair with turkey, cedar planked salmon or sauteed wild mushrooms.

90 points – Gordon Stimmell – Toronto Star  – October 24, 2009
I've been munching through amazing British Columbia wines in the past few weeks. Memorable wines include … the Joie Farm 2007 PTG (Passetoutgrain), a classic pinot noir/gamay combo rating 90.

Very Highly Recommended – Larry Arnold – EAT Magazine – Nov/Dec 2009
Go figure. These two could make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Passetoutegrain, a blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay, is not exactly the belle of the Beaune, but boy does this wine hit all the right buttons. PTG combines the best attributes of both partners. It is medium bodied with ripe cherry, spice and smoke flavours, a silky smooth texture and a long persistent finish.

Beppi Crosariol – Globe and Mail – September 25, 2009
…Joie Farm PTG 2007 , a thoroughly compelling and deliciously smooth spin on Burgundy's “passetoutgrain,” which is a marriage of gamay and pinot noir. Now, that's a vineyard wedding I don't mind.



92 Points – John Schreiner on Wine –
April 12, 2009
This wine begins with inviting aromas of spice and citrus that explodes from the glass. On the palate, there are flavours of lime, grapefruit, green apple and melon, with bracing but refreshing acidity that gives the wine a crisp finish. There actually is some residual sugar, which adds to the body of the wine, but the balance is so exquisite that the finish is dry. One more virtue: the alcohol is a moderate 12.5%

91 points – Wine Access Buyers Guide – October 22, 2009
A Noble Blend is certainly that - a veritable potpourri of grapes, mostly aromatics. Apricot, perfume, mineral, peach and pear aromas all emerge on the nose of this beautifully fragrant white. While intense on the nose and the palate, A Noble Blend is medium-bodied but delicate, with an incredible mouthfeel. Off-dry stone fruit flavours are extremely fresh and are accentuated by light perfume notes. Superb.

90 points - Daenna Van Mulligen - WineScores.ca – March 23, 2009
Bursting with citric aromas - grapefruit and lime zest - apple and firm, snappy nectarine with a hint of peach. It's off-dry on the palate but the snappy acidity fools you into thinking its drier than it is. Flavours are of green pear, grapefruit peel, minerals, lime oil and stone fruit with a bit of spice. A lovely texture, taut and lip-smacking...

Outstanding – Wine Press Northwest – Fall 2009
The Germans craft wines called “Edelzwicker” which translates to “noble blend.”  So Heidi Noble, and her husband, Michael Dinn, gather Gewurztraminer (36%), Kerner (17%), Pinot Blanc (16%), Auxerrois (13%), Pinot Gris (12%) and Oraniensteiner (6%) from 8 vineyards.  The results are stunning, and our space for description is limited.  Apricot, grapefruit, women’s facial powder and a hint of petrol only begin to tell what the nose knows.  It’s tongue-wagging, explosive and slightly off-dry with Texas pink grapefruit, Mandarin orange and lime.  Lemons and apricots arrive on the finish. 

Highly Recommended – Northwest Palate – May/June, 2009
Exotic aromas and flavors of spiced quince, melon and stone fruits, underscored by an interesting, earthy edge. Bright, yet silky, in the mouth, culminating in a clean apple skin finish. Try with choucroute garni.

91 Points – John Schreiner on Wine – April 12, 2009
The JoieFarm 2008 Rose, of which 2,204 cases and 575 magnums were made, is a wine of considerable power and heft while still managing elegance. Once again, the aromas explode from the glass - spice, rose petals, strawberries. There is matching explosion of flavours: pink grapefruit, rhubarb and strawberry compote, sour cherries, apples, with a refreshing, tangy finish of great length. The vivacious, lively rosé delivers a remarkable array of delicious fruit to the table.

90 points - Daenna Van Mulligen – WineScores.ca – March 22, 2009
Welcome Spring!I tasted the newly renamed JoieFarm Rose on the first full day of spring - what better way to celebrate the sunshine than with a toast to the approaching warmer months. The aroma of watermelon juice aptly matches the brilliant hue but strawberries, pink grapefruit and mineral notes also waft upward out of the glass... I think I actually like it better than last years model - it's mouth-watering but suitably off-dry with flavours of blood orange, citrus zest, a suggestion of banana with cedar, tobacco and fine spices.

Outstanding – Wine Press Northwest – Fall 2009
Among the most eclectic pinks in the Northwest, it’s also one of the best.  Gamay (36%), Pinot Noir (30%), Pinot Meunier (24%) and Pinot Gris (10%).  Think mixed berry compote, ambrosia salad and rose hips in the nose.  Delicious and just a bit off-dry (.9%), it’s a veritable cornucopia of cranberry, cherry, raspberry, lingonberry, blueberry and strawberry/rhubarb.  As far as food apps, it’s difficult to go wrong. 

Highly Recommended – Northwest Palate – May/June, 2009
An explosion of strawberry, cherry and cinnamon stick aromas greets the nose. Similar flavours follow, along with a quinine grip that counterbalances the ripe fruitiness. Refreshing acidity makes this a match for pilaf studded with fruits and nuts.


90 points – Wine Access Buyer’s Guide – July 2, 2009
Pristine Maconnais wine, unadorned by onerous oak, is the archetype for this B.C. chardonnay, and JoieFarm has delivered impressively. The new 2008 balances finely-tuned minerality with succulent peach and apple fruit, with just a touch of B.C. sage and honey. Mouthwatering acidity and textbook creamy chardonnay flavours layered with stony complexity is achieved by blending fruit from 2 Okanagan vineyards. Built for food so try with grilled seafood, summer salads and cheese.

90 Points – John Schreiner on Wine – April 12, 2009
This elegant wine is pristinely fresh in its aromas and flavours, hinting of newly sliced apples and freshly baked bread, perhaps reflecting nuanced lees treatment. The wine has good weight, with a tangy acidity to give it a crisp finish.

Excellent – Wine Press Northwest – Fall 2009
Michael Dinn & Heidi Noble added “Farm” to their winery brand and strive to make this in a style similar to the Macon region of France.  Hugely fragrant is the nose of Golden Delicious apple, pineapple, starfruit, jasmine and honeysuckle.  The drink is quintessential oyster wine – dry and tart as apple transitions to lemon. 

88 points – Anthony Gismondi – Vancouver Sun – June 12, 2009
The Joie Unoaked chardonnay is in the bright, white aromatic camp, offering up intense green apple fruit aromas and flavours flecked with grapefruit, mineral and sea salt. Not as bitter as last year, and that's a good thing with bit more lees character. Back on track.

Recommended – Northwest Palate – May/June, 2009
The un-oaked treatement ensures a fresh, perky nose brimming with lemon, peach and golden delicious apple. Firm acidity and crisp apple flavors tantalize the palate. Austere leon peel and minerality connect on the finish. Serve with chicken breast with fiddleheads and morel mushrooms.


91 points - Daenna Van Mulligen – WineScores.ca - April 2, 2009
Green apple, green apple, green apple! Aromas are of peaches, honeyblossoms and some candied citrus peel laden with green apple. Expect flavours of tangerines and cream, sweet citrus zest and did I mention green apple....Mouth-watering in the mouth, snappy and crisp and utterly delicious!

90 Points – John Schreiner on Wine – April 12, 2009
The JoieFarm 2008 Riesling, of which 1,071 cases were made, has only 11% alcohol and enough residual sugar to qualify as a late harvest wine – except that the wine again is brilliantly balanced with racy acidity. The impression is of a wonderfully fruity wine, not a sweet one. It begins with inviting floral aromas. On the palate, it has flavours of pink grapefruit with a squeeze of lime. The acidity, the layers of fruit and the sugar combine to make this a juicy mouth-filling wine with great length, one of the top five B.C. Rieslings

90 points - Bruce Stephen – North Shore Outlook - April 23, 2009
This beautiful B.C. Riesling from Michael Dinn an Heidi Noble has fresh floral, tropical fruit aromas with green apple and citrus notes. The palate is crisp, lively with pink grapefruit, lemon-lime, green apple and just a hint of spice. This well made wine is ideal for sipping on its own, with seafood salad, freshly shucked oysters or full flavoured cheeses - one of B.C.’s best Rieslings

Outstanding – Wine Press Northwest – Fall 2009
Michael Dinn and Heidi Noble describe this as a "delicate vintage." Imagine what they will do with the next easy season. Their goal is a German Spatlese, so their sugar measures in at 2.3%. And they've nailed the sweet spot. It's not a Riesling for Grandma, unless her name is Helga, because it's far from "brunchy." Instead, it's about minerality, river rock, lime and yellow grapefruit. The acidity is spritzy, and you'll sense some lime pith and spearmint gum in the farewell.

Shelley Boettcher – Calgary Herald – April 23, 2009
I will probably regret writing about this wine. It's so good, I don't want to share it. In fact, it's probably one of the best Rieslings I've ever had. Strong lime and a hint of spice on the nose, and a refreshing cool lime-honey taste. It smelled so good, I wanted to wear it -- not just drink it. The wine: JoieFarm's 2008 Riesling…

Highly Recommended – Northwest Palate – May/June, 2009
Sprightly green apple/grapefruit nose supported by a whiff of minerality. Juicy pineapple, citrus and spice flavors shimmer with mouthwatering acidity. Moderate alcohol and a hint of honey also contribute to the quaffable style. Great with gyoza.